Cleveland Museum of Art

Ritual Drum (damaru)

Date

c. 1800

Medium

skull bone, cloth, hemp fiber, leather, and skin

Culture

Tibet

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Damaru drums are made from the tops of two skulls joined in the center and sounded by rapidly turning it side to side so the ends of the cords fly up to sound against the stretched skin. In Hindu and Buddhist rituals, the rhythm of the damaru references the ongoing, relentless beat of time. The material of bone reminds practitioners of the inevitability of death in the course of time. Dancing Shiva, in his form as Nataraja, holds a damaru in one hand.

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